WB has new Phl partnership strategy

MANILA, Philippines - The World Bank Group has laid out its new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for the Philippines, which could amount to financial assistance reaching $1.1 billion a year, for projects that support poverty reduction, sustaining inclusive growth, and climate change risk management.

World Bank vice president for East Asia and Pacific Axel van Trotsenburg said with the Philippines among the fastest-growing countries in the world, the new program offers a unique opportunity for the group to support the Philippine government’s efforts to improve the lives of the poor and vulnerable by creating more jobs and better opportunities.

World Bank country director for the Philippines Motoo Konishi said they will prioritize projects and assistance which support poverty reduction and shared prosperity, utilizing the analytical and monitoring tools necessary to ensure that these interventions clearly benefit the poor.

“In particular, we will focus on areas and sectors where poverty is very high,” Konishi stressed.

“We will leverage our public and private resources to help Filipinos build resilience to economic shocks from natural disasters and climate change and to build shared prosperity including for people in Mindanao seeking the rewards of peace,” Van Trotsenburg added.

The World Bank said the new strategy will guide its engagement in the country from 2015 to 2018 and will support government programs in these five key areas:

• Transparent and accountable governance: strengthening public financial management, improving fiscal transparency and financial accountability, and supporting greater demand from citizens for government accountability.

• Empowerment of the poor and vulnerable: improving health and education outcomes, strengthening social protection and ensuring the availability of more timely and improved measurements of poverty.

• Rapid, inclusive and sustained economic growth: promoting economic policy reform for inclusive growth, boosting private sector development by improving the investment climate for firms of all sizes, including greater access to finance, and increasing productivity and job creation, especially in rural areas.

• Climate change, environment, and disaster risk management: increasing physical, financial and institutional resilience to natural disaster and climate change impacts, and improving natural resource management and sustainable development.

• Peace, institution building, and social and economic opportunity: supporting social and economic development in conflict-affected regions in Mindanao, including the Bangsamoro.

The CPS is a joint strategy of the three members of the World Bank Group: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), more commonly known as the World Bank; the International Finance Corp. (IFC) focused on the private sector in developing countries; and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), which provides political risk insurance to private sector investors and lenders.

The World Bank Group will help mobilize private sector investment and support job creation. IBRD, IFC and MIGA will collaborate in sectors like agriculture and agri-business, trade and logistics, infrastructure and public-private partnerships – programs and projects that will help generate more opportunities for small and micro-entrepreneurs to flourish and create more jobs.

The indicative new financial commitment from IBRD may average $800 million a year, along with non-lending support in the form of analytical and advisory assistance. IFC has committed $250-$300 million in investments in the next couple of years.

Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said the new partnership strategy of the World Bank Group is “an affirmation of its support for the country’s development objectives.”

“The strategy’s continuing focus on good governance, strengthened public finances and fiscal transparency will support the Aquino administration's efforts to continue the virtuous cycle of expanding our fiscal space for greater investments in infrastructure and social services,” he said.